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Chapter 4

Charlotte's meeting with her clients was taking longer than expected. She stared briefly at her wristwatch; she needed to end the meeting as soon as possible but it did not seem like her client would be releasing her soon.

Though she knew how important it was for her to get home early to prepare for her visit to her in-law's place, she also knew how important it was for her to make them sign the contract with her company before she leaves or she might never get that opportunity again.

Her husband would not stop buzzing her phone with calls too, which kept her distracted. Despite having placed her phone on silent, her phone light which kept coming on almost every time, kept her distracted.

"Your phone would not stop ringing. It must be an important call. Why don't you pick it up." The client said.

Charlotte smiled slightly. "It's not an important call. It's a call from another client. I will ask my assistant to speak to him." Charlotte said before handing over her phone to Bella. "Pick up the call and tell him I am at a meeting," Charlotte whispered.

"It's a call from the president. Are you not..."

"Bella, just do what I asked you to do."

Bella nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Bella left and Charlotte went on with her meeting. "I am so sorry for the distraction." The client nodded but said nothing so she continued. "Like I said before, you won't regret signing a contract with us."

The meeting went on for about thirty minutes. In the end, Charlotte got the contract.

"Looking forward to doing more business with you," the client said and Charlotte smiled.

"Thank you. I will see you, to the door."

After the client left, she gestured to Bella to move closer.

"What did the president say?"

"He will be waiting for you," Bella replied and she sighed.

"Did you cancel all my schedule for today like I said?"

Bella nodded. "I did."

"And the car?"

"It's ready."

Charlotte picked her bag up. "I am leaving, Bella. You should finish up your work as soon as possible and go home too. See you tomorrow."

Bella waved at her. "Bye, ma'am."

**

When Charlotte got to the house, she had expected Melvin to yell at her or maybe scold her for coming back late when he asked her to be home early. Instead, he asked her to take her bath quickly. He was extra careful in making sure she looked very presentable to his mother. Not only did he send in a makeup artist to make her up, but he also made sure to spell out how he wanted her to look.

"Done," the makeup artist finally announced and Charlotte could not hide the joy of finally getting to stand up.

It's been an hour since she had taken her bath and had been seated. Charlotte had no interest in how her face was made up; she was sure Melvin would make the best choice. All she wanted was to get dressed, head to his family house, and get this family meeting done as soon as possible.

"Do you like it?" The makeup artist asked and she nodded.

"It's beautiful."

Charlotte headed to her closet after the makeup artist left, to pick a cloth to wear. She opted for a bright blue dress and silver heels; the rest of the clothes and shoes that are in the bag, she will be returning to Melvin when she gets back.

There was a slight knock on her door. "Ma'am, are you done dressing up?" Hannah asked. "Mr Melvin is waiting."

"I will be out soon," Charlotte answered giving the last touch to her hair; the makeup artist had already packed her hair, and she was only adding up some flowers.

"He will be waiting for you in the car," Hannah said before leaving.

Charlotte joined Melvin in the car a few minutes later.

"It's a good thing you are not looking stressed out," Melvin said.

The journey was in awkward silence; Charlotte had nothing to say to him and he also had no reason to talk to her either. Melvin's mother was at the door to welcome them when they got there and they both had to show an intimacy that never existed between them to make his mother happy.

"How have you been, Charlotte?" His mother asked.

"I am fine, mother."

His mother welcomed them into the house and they headed to the dining table. At dinner, his mother kept showering her with so much affection. Charlotte knew that the affection wasn't genuine and his mother only did that out of pity and sympathy; she must feel guilty for not going against their marriage when her late husband suggested it even when it was obvious there wasn't love between them.

Charlotte played along, not only by showing how appreciative she was for receiving such affection from her mother-in-law but she also had to pretend to be in an intimate relationship with her husband to keep her mother-in-law's mind at rest; though she wished the dinner would end as soon as possible.

They were done eating, after a while and they had to sit in the living room to talk about a few things. When Melvin finally suggested that they leave, Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. They headed to the door, and Melvin quickly placed his coat over her shoulder.

"You will catch a cold," he said.

Charlotte knew he was only trying to please his mother so she played along with a smile.

"Thank you."

"It's good to see you both getting along with each other," his mother said and Charlotte smiled. "I hope you will be visiting soon?"

Melvin nodded but said nothing.

"Bye, Mother." Charlotte hugged her.

"Bye Charlotte. And Melvin, make sure you treat your wife well."

When they got into the car, Charlotte stared out of the window and when she saw that his mother was still in sight, she held the coat with her two hands. As soon as they were out of his mother's sight, she handed back his coat to him.

"You do not have to do that." She mumbled.

"We both know I did that because of my mother not because I care," Melvin answered. "There is no reason for me to care for you if it has nothing to do with my mother."

He was so sincere with his words and though she felt a bit disappointed with his words, she was happy for his sincerity.

She nodded. "Of course, there isn't any reason to care about me. You do not have to spell that out though. It is pretty obvious."

Melvin brought out his phone and began to press it, indicating he had no plan to keep the conversation he was having with her going. Charlotte rested her back on the chair, eyes closed.

Just like he doesn't want to go on with the conversation, she has no plan to go on either.

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